Straining out the gnat

The newly enthroned statue of St. Peregrine stares out onto parishioners during the inaugural devotion Mass to the saint at the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica in Hagåtña on Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2019. The Archdiocese of Agaña announced that Mass will be at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesdays for cancer patients, their families and all who would like to participate in celebration of the Eucharist and prayers. Confession will also be offered before each Mass, as well as an anointing of the sick, said Monsignor James Benavente, pastor of the Cathedral-Basilica.(Photo: Rick Cruz/PDN)

Jesus did not hold back. Perhaps he was angry and fed up. Perhaps he knew that harsh, insulting, and stern language was necessary to cut through the hard-headed leadership. Whatever his reasoning, in the 23rd Chapter of Matthew, Jesus unloads on the religious leadership of his day. Among the many harsh judgments, he denounces them for straining out a gnat while swallowing a camel. Unfortunately, it is a charge which America needs to face in our own lives today.

The phrase Jesus uses is not intended to be taken literally. Rather, he is speaking in symbolic language and metaphor in order to communicate a profound truth. The leadership was using minute standards of absolutism in order to manipulate and control the public discourse and religious landscape without considering the broader context.

In America we see this today in the realm of intense, single-issue politics. Frequently such political issues are filled with powerful emotion, polarizing rhetoric, and absolutist defiance. Border walls, abortion, fracking, military spending, gun rights, animal rights, environmental protection ….

The list continues almost indefinitely. Regardless of the particular issue and regardless of the stand one may personally take on the issue, when single-issue-politics dominate governance and partisan discourse, the real issues are easily and tragically overlooked.

This problem is not helped by the pervasive nature of deceptive, one-sided, and highly distorted information permeating much of the internet, social media, and much of main stream media. It is far too easy for an individual or entity with a political axe to grind to create an internet posting, podcast, meme, or video which seems to absolutely and irrefutably “prove” one’s own political bias. That content may contain elements of truth, but in many cases is only negatable truthful. In most cases, the most viral content ignorantly confuses fact with opinion, and distorts truth in such a way as to validate preconceived bias, perception, and partisan stand.

Once this form of deceptive communication sets in and people become entrenched in absolutist, single-issue political rants that focus on self-confirming information which never tells the whole truth or takes into consideration the full context of the situation, it is nothing more than straining out the gnat while blindly and ignorantly swallowing the camel. Only this time, rather than pointing the accusatory finger at Jewish leaders from 2,000 years in the past, his judgment falls squarely on the many Christians today who are so obsessed with single-issue political stands that they are incapable of addressing the real problems that face our world.

This is not to say that the critical points of these single-issue political realities are unimportant. Abortion, walls, guns, environment, military, animals, and the like are issues that really matter. They matter to God and are issues that Christians must take seriously. The problem is, Christians can never take these issues seriously when we become entrenched in our narrow-minded political arrogance and refuse to step back to understand the broader context or take the time to truly understand why people believe as they believe.

Yet, Jesus illustrates the fundamental reality is that in all of our political debates and struggles, one singular focus remains the most important to God. According to Jesus in Matthew 23:23 it is a priority for justice, mercy, and faith. If Christians are to take our faith in Jesus seriously, it is time we step past the arrogant posturing and ideological absolutism that has polarized our nation with hate and fear. Rather, we need to seek unity in our diversity, understand the complexities of the modern world, and work for justice, mercy, and faith.